Kevin Woodhurst & Hyundai

DID YOU KNOW

1 Founded in 1967
in Seoul, South Korea, Hyundai Motor Co. employs approximately
75,000 people around the globe, selling vehicles in 93
countries.

2 In the beginning,
Hyundai partnered with Ford Motor Co. to produce cars. Its first
solo effort was the Pony in 1975.

For years, the Hyundai Motor Company endured mockery and negative press in the United States. But the South Korean carmaker has proved the naysayers wrong. Over the past
decade, Hyundai’s image has changed from a maker of cheap,
unsophisticated vehicles to a world-class brand.

The turnaround began in earnest in 2004, when Hyundai was ranked
second in initial quality by J.D. Power and Associates.
(“Initial quality” is based on a survey of new-car
owners 90 days after purchase, and is considered a good predictor
of long-term dependability.)

This year, J.D. Power ranked Hyundai as the best nonluxury brand,
ahead of powerhouses Honda and Toyota — and in the top three
in a brand loyalty study. In Britain, it was named “Carmaker
of the Year” for 2010 by AM, a leading auto trade magazine,
beating out Jaguar, Ford and Land Rover.

“What Hyundai has accomplished is incredible,” says
Kevin Woodhurst, vice president/general manager of Dolphin Pools
& Spas in Phoenix. “Other car manufacturers have
floundered and haven’t learned how to adapt quickly [to the
times]. Where Hyundai was and where they are now is astonishing,
and their cars are cutting-edge, great designs.”

Hyundai’s Miles Johnson agrees: “[When] Hyundai started
investing heavily into image to connect with customers, the main
ways were through modern design and gaining customer trust. It led to things such as the
10-year, 100,000-mile warranty on the powertrain on cars,”
says the manager of product public relations, based in Costa Mesa,
Calif. “Plus, showing that we listen to our customers in this
economy, we came up with an offer, promoted in commercials, that if
you lost your job, you could bring the car back with no penalty in
2008.”

In its online interactions with the public, Johnson says Hyundai
tries to be honest, but with a dash of humor. “We want to
keep the conversation going and give the company a personality. Our
CEO Tweets every day — he’s always posting something
he’s done or answering questions. That’s kind of
unusual.”

Meanwhile, Woodhurst is pursuing a similar course in the pool and
spa industry. “Social media is a great thing, a great
tool,” he says. “In a very short time, business has
changed. Are we [the industry] adapting?”

He certainly seems to be. For a year now, he’s been active on
Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, plus he blogs on Dolphin’s
Website. He uses a multimedia approach to try to get people into
the store and, he says, “I feel vindication when a customer
comes in and tells me, ‘I remember you from your blog’
or something like that. … I work 60 to 80 hours a week, and
one-fourth of my time is spent online. In the forums you see people
saying, ‘I don’t have time to spend online [at
work].’”

Woodhurst thinks they can’t afford not to.“The big
thing in sales is figuring out how to differentiate
yourself,” Woodhurst explains. “Think outside the
box.” Or, as Hyundai’s current marketing message puts
it: “New Thinking. New Possibilities.”